For public distribution Friday, 19 February 2010 6:00 PM, EST

Emergency Operations Center Situation Report #21 Earthquake

GENERAL OVERVIEW

• More than a month after the earthquake, over 300,000 people are suffering from injuries, but there have been no confirmed outbreaks of diseases. • Health assessments undertaken so far have revealed that 29 hospitals and other health facilities have been partially damaged or destroyed. With the rainy season approaching, mobile clinics are crucial in order to serve those displaced. Photo: PAHO/WHO • The humanitarian situation is also gradually improving on a daily basis. Some of the essential infrastructure in Haiti, such as the port, airport, government institutions, electric and telecommunications networks, and roads is beginning to be more operational. However, it is also clear that major unmet humanitarian needs remain, particularly in critical areas such as shelter, other non-food items and sanitation. The government estimates that 97,294 houses were destroyed and 188,383 were damaged across all affected areas. • The revised UN Flash Appeal was launched on 18 February and will cover programs up to 12 months after the earthquake. The total amount required for the health sector is US$ 134 million. • UNDP and partner agencies are supporting spontaneous recovery initiatives by affected communities. Approximately 66,672 people have been employed under the UNDP cash-for-work program, indirectly benefiting 333,360 people (on the basis of 5 persons per family). • The WASH Cluster estimates that a total of 1.1 million displaced people in Port-au-Prince, Leogane, Petit Goave, Gressier and require emergency latrines. The interim plan is to provide 12,950 latrines by April (for approximately 650,000 people using 1 latrine for 50 people ratio in acute phase) and 21,000 more within 6 months (moving towards goal of 1 latrine for 20 people). Poor sanitation and crowding increases the risk of communicable diseases. • Over 1,700 Cuban health professionals are presently in Haiti, 1,300 of who arrived after the quake. Cuba has pledged to send as many doctors as it can.

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PAHO/WHO RESPONSE • PAHO and WHO deployed health experts and an economist to support the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA), launched by the Haitian Government on 18 February. The PDNA will guide the future recovery and reconstruction of Haiti and is expected to be completed by 12 March. • On 17 February, the PAHO/WHO Country Representative briefed the humanitarian liaison working group (HLWG) at WHO headquarters in Geneva. HLWG is a consortium of representatives from permanent missions of donor countries to the UN in Geneva. • The Haitian Ministry of Health, with the support of PAHO/WHO and other partners, developed an intermediary plan, to guide the rebuilding of the health system. The Minister of Health visited the PAHO/WHO offices during the past week to discuss the plan, which will be implemented in March. • A PAHO/WHO mental health consultant is supporting the newly established a Cluster working group on mental health that includes in its membership, the directors of the two psychiatric clinics in Haiti ( Mars & Kline and Hôpital Defileé de Beudet), IMC, IOM, PAHO/WHO and other health partners. The group works along the core lines of the Haiti’s strategy on mental health. • PAHO/WHO is supporting the Government of Haiti to develop a National Plan for Disability and Rehabilitation, and along the border, the Organization is working with the Ministry of Health and Social Services of the Dominican Republic and regional health authorities to implement `in-service trainings` in basic rehabilitation activities for the local health workers. • The Haitian Ministry for Public Health and Population in conjunction with PAHO/WHO, WFP, UNFPA, and UNICEF, is working to prevent severe malnutrition in infants and children living in makeshift shelters across Port-au-Prince. The program will distribute 3-week rations of high-energy biscuits to pregnant and lactating mothers and children ages three to five years, as well as a peanut-based paste to infants six to 35 months. The teams also identify and refer children suffering from severe malnutrition to mobile nutrition therapy centers. • PAHO/WHO continues to participate in health education and promotion activities, the latest being a press roundtable on HIV/AIDS program in Haiti. • PAHO/WHO is collaborating with UNEP to provide medical waste equipment in Port-au- Prince. • LSS/SUMA, the Logistics Supply Management System, is set up at the port in the capital, and has reported that in this one location alone, between 21 January and 6 February, they classified and organized 27,864 tons of humanitarian supplies (see breakdown below).

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Source: LSS/SUMA program

Read past situation reports and Health Cluster Bulletins at www.paho.org/disasters and http://twitter.com/pahoeoc

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